Student Learning Centre

Avoiding Plagiarism
This guide aims to help you to understand what plagiarism is in the
context of academic work and offers guidance on how to avoid it.

What is plagiarism?

In all aspects of academic study and research, thoughts and ideas

Other Useful Guides inevitably build on those of other writers or researchers - this is a
Referencing & legitimate and indeed essential part of the academic process. The Shorter
Bibliographies Oxford English Dictionary defines plagiarism as the taking and using as
Effective Note Making
one's own ... the thoughts, writings, or inventions of another. In an academic
context, plagiarism implies a deliberate act on the part of the writer or
researcher to use the work, ideas or expressions of others as if they were
his or her own.

Deliberate plagiarism, therefore, is academic cheating, and the university

has a very firm view on this: anyone found to have deliberately copied or
plagiarised the work of others is severely penalised. The University
regulation concerning academic dishonesty is included in the
Undergraduate (p.11) and Postgraduate (section A:14) Regulations; most
departmental handbooks also include a statement of the University's
policy in respect of academic dishonesty.

Deliberate plagiarism with a clear intention to cheat is, however, far less
common than plagiarism committed through misunderstanding or even
carelessness. These latter types of plagiarism may occur if:

• you fail to acknowledge fully the sources of knowledge and ideas

that you use in your work;
• you incorporate the words of others into your writing as if they
were your own;
• you 'string together' ideas or facts taken from others without
presenting your own viewpoint.

Many students, particularly those at the beginning of their courses, are

Avoiding Plagiarism 2

unclear about how to use the work of others in a way that does not constitute
plagiarism. This leaflet has been written to give guidance on how to avoid plagiarism
and at the same time produce work of better quality.

Fully reference and acknowledge the work of others

Understanding how to use and appropriately acknowledge your debt to the work of
others is an essential step in learning how to avoid plagiarism.

Make sure that when you are reading or researching for any written work or
presentation, you include in your notes, or on any photocopies, the full reference
details (see the Student Learning Centre guide: REFERENCING &
BIBLIOGRAPHIES ) of each source that you use. This will ensure that you have all
the information you need to acknowledge your sources fully when you come to use
this material in your own work.

When you write down the precise words of a writer, or even of a lecturer, make sure
that you mark clearly in your notes that you have included an exact quotation, and add
the relevant page number to the other reference details (this includes the citation of
sources on the Web, and online discussion lists/mail bases/databases). This will
ensure that when you go back to your notes at a later date you will be able distinguish
your own words from those of your sources. An appropriate sentence or phrase
quoted from an expert in the field can be used with great effect within an essay or
dissertation, but it needs to be fully referenced and clearly distinguished from your
own words.

The paragraph below is taken word for word, fully referenced, from an article by Peter
Scott in a book on the future of higher education and is used here as a source for a
hypothetical essay on the topic of Higher Education in the 1990s.

Widening access to higher education is no longer conceived... as a crusade to help

the educationally and socially deprived, to reach out into the depths of Britain's
democracy (and, incidentally, to save departments and institutions from threatened
closure!). Instead it is seen in much less heroic terms, as the careful management
of burgeoning demand mainly, but not exclusively, from standard school leavers
and other conventional sources (Scott 1991 p.57).

…………………………………………………………………………………………..…..

Scott, P. 1991: Access: an overview. In T. Schuller (ed.) The Future of Higher

Education. Buckingham: SRHE & Open University Press, pp. 55-60.

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 Avoiding Plagiarism 3

The paragraph below, from the essay returned by student A, has clearly been
plagiarised. Although the wording has been changed slightly, the words are essentially
those of Scott and not of the student writer; there is no reference to the original
source.

A.

The driving force behind Britain's move towards a mass higher education system
is no longer conceived as a crusade to help the educationally and socially
deprived. It has become a way of meeting the demand from standard level
student leavers and other conventional sources.

Student A's plagiarism may not have been deliberate but the result of poor note taking
which did not distinguish between the student's own words and ideas and those of
other writers. Such plagiarism would nonetheless be taken very seriously.

The paragraph below from student B's essay is not plagiarised.

B.

The early 1990s saw considerable changes in the organisation of Higher

Education in Britain, as it moved from an elite to a mass education system. At
this time, the Editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement was Peter Scott,
whose job placed him in a unique position to take a broad, and well informed,
overview of these changes. He viewed the move to mass education as 'the
careful management of burgeoning demand mainly, but not exclusively, from
standard school leavers and other conventional sources' and not, as others might
have seen it ' as a crusade to help the educationally and socially deprived, and to
reach out into the depths of British democracy' (Scott 1991 p.57).

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Student B chose to include quotations to make a particular point, but these have been fully
referenced. The quotations are included within a paragraph, which clearly shows the personal
stamp and contribution of the student writer. This is seen in, for example, the comment on
the background to Scott's viewpoint (as editor of the Times Higher) and the suggestion that
his view is not universally held ('and not as others might have characterised it'). Student B might
then go on to discuss, and give his opinion of, these other views, making sure that
appropriate references were included.

For more information on note taking and on referencing your sources in written work, read
the Student Learning Centre guides: EFFECTIVE NOTE MAKING and
REFERENCING & BIBLIOGRAPHIES.

Use your own words and develop your own writing style

Many students, particularly when they first start writing, find it difficult to develop their own
writing style. When you are reading and researching for a piece of written work, try to use
your own words in your notes to summarise your reading, and include your own ideas and
comments on each text that you read. As you practise and establish your writing style, you
will become more confident about expressing your thoughts and ideas in your own way.

If your first language is not English, and you are not yet completely fluent, it can be very
tempting to borrow a well expressed sentence or even a paragraph from another writer.
However, this is plagiarism, and lecturers would much prefer to receive a piece of work in
your own, if imperfect, style than to read chunks of text in perfect English that are clearly
taken from another writer.

Organise and structure your work in your own way

Taking notes that paraphrase the views and opinions of the authors that you read is often the
first stage of the research undertaken for any piece of written work. However, if your own
writing consists largely of a string of paraphrases from a number of different writers, or an

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 Avoiding Plagiarism 5

almost exact copy of the sequence of another writer's ideas and the logic of his/her
argument, you may be seen to be plagiarising, even if you acknowledge the sources of your
information. This type of plagiarism is probably the most common that is found in
undergraduate work.

Examples

Two further 'extracts' from hypothetical essays illustrate this point. In this example the essay
topic is about the value of different types of assessment procedures. Student C has read a
number of books on his topic, and in the paragraphs below he has quoted some of them in
his discussion of examinations. In these examples the sources quoted have been invented for
illustrative purposes, and so reference details have not been included.

C.

An experiment carried out by Smith (1997) showed that students do better in exams
that contribute to their final grade than in those that are merely 'pass and proceed'; this
showed that motivation is an important factor in improving students' examination
performance. Patel (1995) believes that students should be given past papers to
increase their confidence, but Jones (1998) thinks that this can lead to students
revising only those topics that come up regularly. Essay-type questions are better
than short-answer questions because they test creative thinking and not just memory
(McPherson, 1997)

Student C's writing is essentially a string of facts, ideas and opinions from others and there is
very little evidence of his own contribution to the topic. He seems only to be passing on the
views of others without any critical analysis of the arguments or evidence presented by his
sources. Although he has referenced his sources, he has effectively plagiarised their ideas.
This type of plagiarism though not at all desirable, is not deliberate academic cheating, as
there is no attempt here to claim the ideas as his own. However, Student C would not get a
very good grade for his essay. Now consider the extract from Student D's essay:

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D.

Recent published research on the effectiveness of examinations as an assessment technique

has highlighted the importance of motivation as a driving force (for example, Patel, 1995;
Smith, 1997; Jones 1998). Patel and Jones disagree about whether or not past papers can
be useful in helping students, but I would agree with Patel that without some clear examples
of at least the types of questions that are likely to be asked, students are not able to plan an
effective revision strategy. What is important, though, is not just the context in which
examinations are used, but the format of the examinations themselves. McPherson (1997)
argued against short-answer questions, which he saw as only capable of testing memory and
not creative thinking. In his criticism of this type of examination, he has failed to
acknowledge the importance of providing opportunities for students to develop a wider range
of written communication skills than those developed by essay writing. The ability to write
briefly and effectively is a very valuable skill for future employment; discursive essays are a
form of writing that is very rarely used in the world of work.

Student D has used the same sources, but has provided a much more sophisticated analysis,
and, while building on the work of her sources, has taken the ideas and discussion forward.
Her own contribution to the topic is very clear in this piece. Student D will undoubtedly have
gained a much higher grade for her work than Student C.

Don't be afraid to express your own views

Many students are hesitant about expressing their own opinion, particularly if it contradicts
the views of 'experts'. Work that is published and printed in books and learned journals is
not necessarily always right nor the very last word on a topic. In the humanities and social
sciences in particular, much academic writing is based on informed opinion rather than
indisputable fact. Do not be afraid to have your own views on a subject. What is important is
that your views should be informed, clearly expressed and based on careful consideration and
knowledge of both the relevant facts and of the views of those who are acknowledged to
have expertise on the topic.

It may be much more difficult for science students to have new ideas or make original
contributions to their subject in the early stages of their scientific education. What you can
show in your writing is that you are aware of all the relevant information, and have a full
knowledge and understanding of the scientific principles that underpin the experiments that
you write up or the reports that you complete. When you carry out an experiment, the

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method you use is perhaps unlikely to be your own, and you may well need to acknowledge
the source of the particular methodology you employ. However, the results that you obtain
when you carry out the experiment are your own, and in their analysis and interpretation you
can make your own contribution.

Other forms of plagiarism

Don't forget that plagiarism can occur not only in your use of text but also in accompanying
illustrations, maps and tables. Make sure that in the captions to these you fully reference and
acknowledge any material or ideas taken from a source that is not your own. Minor changes,
rewording or redrawing may be enough to avoid infringing copyright, but not to avoid the
charge of plagiarism. Remember that you also need to take steps to avoid plagiarism in an
oral presentation by making appropriate acknowledgements to the authors you quote, either
in your talk or in the OHPs that you use.

Further information

If you are still unclear about what is and isn't plagiarism, you can talk to your lecturer or
personal tutor, or visit the Student Learning Centre in College House. Your departmental
student handbook may also give you further guidance.

There is a very useful guide to plagiarism and how to avoid it on the University of British
Columbia's web site:
http: //www.zoology.ubc.ca/bpg/plagiarism.htm

A brief but helpful section on plagiarism (pp. 109-110) can be found in How to Write Essays,
Dissertations and Theses in Literary Studies by N. Fabb and A. Durant (1993); this book is in the
University's Main Library and can also be consulted in the College House Information
Room .

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Student Learning Centre Publications

Study Skills
Organising Your Time
Making the Most of Lectures
Effective Note Making
Thought Mapping
Improving Your Reading Skills
Revision & Exam Skills
Successful Group Projects
Exam Stress

Writing Skills
Planning Essays
Writing Essays
Referencing & Bibliographies
Avoiding Plagiarism
Writing for Science
Writing Reports

Presentation Skills
Planning a Powerful Presentation
Delivering a Powerful Presentation
Using Visual Aids
Poster Presentations
Presenting to Large Groups
Contributing to Seminars and Tutorials
Stress Management for Presentations and Interviews

This Study Guide is one in a series produced by the Student Learning Centre at the University of Leicester.
The Centre provides a range of services for students wishing to develop their learning skills.
For further information about the Centre please contact:
Maria Graal, Learning Development Adviser
Tel: 0116 252 5090 Email: studentlearning@le.ac.uk Website: http://www.le.ac.uk/slc/
College House, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH

© UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER 2002